'Saginaw Rising' documentary aims to inspire change

By Tracy Burton for the Daily News

Published 8:00 am, Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Crime is everywhere, no matter how small, large, rich or poor a community. And even though a two-hour documentary created by college professors focuses on Saginaw, its creators want to get the message out there that everyone should see this film and take a stand against violence.

According to the most recent FBI data, Saginaw is currently ranked the third most violent place in the U.S. for cities with 50,000 or more people. The ongoing violence has prompted husband and wife team, Dr. Stephanie Baiyasi and Dr. Zigmond Kozicki, to help people not only understand the dynamics of violence but also to start exploring solutions to work together to help end it.

The couple has a 10 year history in public health research and filmed more than 50 hours in 2011 and 2012 to the create the documentary “Saginaw Rising.” A free showing is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall, 3109 Swede Ave.

“We look at violence as an epidemic,” Ziggy Kozicki said. “But this is a public health problem that can be solved. We’re really trying to raise people up because with courage and good sound strategy, we can take care of this problem. The film shares our research about the possible reasons for violence in Saginaw and the potential solutions. It is meant to engage the community to take action and break the cycle of violence.”

Kozicki explained that the outbreak of violence in Saginaw represents a threat to anyone who lives along the I-75 and US-10 business corridor.

“We cannot hide or ignore the duty to act… To ignore this threat is cowardly and irresponsible,” he said. “The solution is to break the cycle of violence and to socialize people to respect authority and to rely on appropriate life skills to prosper. This will require members of the communities that surround Saginaw to help a neighbor. What is needed is to engage civic-minded people to step up their effort to support the rebuilding of the shattered economy of post manufacturing cities like Saginaw.”

Kozicki, who teaches at Central Michigan University and is a psychologist at Mid-Michigan Neuropsychology in Saginaw Township, said the film attempts to identify ways that everyday citizens can stand up and take action.

“In order to deal with crime and violence effectively, we need a public health model that looks at early education as well as some of the other factors such as mental illness and substance abuse,” he said. “It’s deeper than the gun issue. Guns are just a means to carry out an act.”

Kozicki stressed that there remains a lot of good tucked away in Saginaw and the violence is holding back good things from happening.

“The longstanding growth of the Great Lakes Bay Region includes many contributions from the people of Saginaw,” he said. “The current population of Saginaw includes people who appreciate democracy and the opportunity to thrive. As the region overcomes the loss of manufacturing jobs it is rediscovering the path to future success. As Saginaw rises so does the Great Lakes Bay Region.”

To provide insights into how to stop violence in America, the couple interviewed local residents and many leaders from state and national entities and universities for the documentary including the U.S. District Attorney, the U.S. Justice Department Defending Childhood Task Force, the Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Drexel University School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice, and more.

“The experts we included had strong beliefs in the necessity for public health to play a significant role in eradicating the violence epidemic we are experiencing,” said Stephanie Baiyasi-Kozicki. “We see this as violence having virus-like infection and transmission characteristics and the way to approach this situation is from a public health perspective.”

Baiyasi-Kozicki, who also teaches at CMU’s College of Health Professions, explained that criminal justice typically is reactionary while public health often approaches situations from a preventative perspective, which experts believe is more appropriate in the long term.

“So these two disciplines, plus criminology, need to work together for effectiveness in reducing this epidemic in the Great Lakes Bay Region,” she said.

After the film plays at Blessed Sacrament, there will be an open community discussion on how to move forward. After the showing in Saginaw earlier this year, a number of task groups were formed to begin contributing.

Kozicki hopes the same happens in Midland and in Mount Pleasant after the documentary is played at 6 p.m. March 14 in CMU’s Moore Hall. There is also a planned peaceful public demonstration against violence in Saginaw at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the First Congregational Church, 403 S. Jefferson Ave.

“Everybody in the Great Lakes Bay region needs to sit down and figure out how we are going to change this cycle,” he said. “It’s something that people don’t want to talk about but we need to talk about it and we need to talk about it now.”

Baiyasi-Kozicki added that she has been organizing a leadership group that currently is comprised of 60 active members to take on the task of breaking the violence cycle. This was the result of a successful Saginaw Area Leaders Violence Prevention Workshop at Saginaw Valley State University held in January, which involved the views of 120 Saginaw community leaders.

“Information that was gathered from this is now becoming five separate reports that will be shared with the members of the Saginaw Rising Project and with the Saginaw County Commission Courts/Public Safety Committee,” she said. “I hope to engage the medical and educational community to create a renewed effort to prevent violence using the Public Health Model.”

The couple really hopes the showing in Midland will help spark some partnering efforts as well as involve the communities in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

“We have an appreciation for what public health is about and want the public to be healthy, which includes being free from acts of violence,” she said. “We have a strong desire to make this world a better place because of our involvement in these social justice and health issues.”